Chair of Rosa Women’s Association, Suzan Işbilen. said: “For a real social transformation in the peace process, it is essential that women have a voice. True peace is only possible by listening to those who have suffered from war. The memory carried by women is the strongest source that can shed light on this process. Any process where this voice is not heard will remain incomplete.”
After the “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society” made by Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February, a “Commission on National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy” was established in Parliament. The commission heard many non-governmental organisations, Peace Mothers, families of soldiers, political parties and institutions. Most recently, youth organisations and women’s institutions were invited to present their views. However, while five women’s organisations were invited, only the “Women’s Initiative I Need Peace” was heard as an opposition voice, and the exclusion of women’s organisations from Kurdistan triggered reactions.
Suzan Işbilen stressed that women who have witnessed the war, lived through it and carry its memory must be present in the commission. Işbilen said, “As Kurdish women who have carried the heaviest burden of this war, we were not included in the process. This raises serious questions about the sincerity of peace.”
The process must include everyone
Suzan Işbilen drew attention to the fact that, for the first time in Turkey, a search for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question has come to the agenda rather than security-oriented policies, and said that past approaches have failed: “For years, governments tried to solve the Kurdish question through security-based methods, but it is clear that this policy has produced no results for more than fifty years. Today, a large part of society believes that this issue can only be resolved through mutual dialogue. A solution process has therefore been initiated, but this process must include everyone.”
Işbilen stated that the effects of war have left deep scars, especially on women and children, and added: “As Kurdish women, we know better than anyone what war means. Mothers lost their children, families waited for years at prison gates. There were mothers who lost their children in prison. In a process in which so much pain has been experienced, not listening to these testimonies is a major deficiency.”
Women who witnessed the war and their institutions must be heard
Suzan Işbilen said that the exclusion of women’s organisations calls into question the sincerity of the government and continued: “Of course, it is important that the ‘Women’s Initiative I Need Peace’ was heard. However, this initiative is quite new. We, on the other hand, are institutions that carry the memory of war and have been part of this struggle for years. Not hearing these institutions means ignoring the experiences of women in the peace process. Excluding women from the process also leaves the gender dimension incomplete. The violence experienced by women does not stem solely from the conflict environment, but the conflict deepens this violence. It was necessary to discuss the future that awaits women and children after the war. We should have had the opportunity to explain the impact of peace on women and how children grow up psychologically.”
Women’s memory is the strongest source that will guide this process
Criticising the government’s policies on women, Işbilen stated that the exclusion of women is not a coincidence. She called for women to be heard first in order for this process to evolve into a genuine one and said: “For years, the perpetrators of femicides have been rewarded with impunity. This is part of the policy of silencing women and confining them to the home. Now, even in the peace process, the statements and testimony of women are being pushed to the background. Yet if we want a better future for this country, we must listen to the victims and witnesses. For a real social transformation in the peace process, it is essential that women have a voice. True peace is only possible by listening to those who have suffered from war. The memory women carry is the strongest source that can shed light on this process. Any process in which this voice is not heard will remain incomplete.”